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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics researcher notes the conditions on the P-39L after its first test run in the Icing Research Tunnel on Sept. 13, 1944. The aircraft was too large to fit in the test section, so it was installed downstream in a larger area of the tunnel. The initial tests analyzed ice buildup on the nose, propeller blades, and antennae. In the summer of 1945, the P-39L was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of a thermal pneumatic boot ice-prevention system and heated propeller blades.Credit: NASA On Sept. 13, 1944, researchers subjected a Bell P-39L Airacobra to frigid temperatures and a freezing water spray in the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)’s new Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) to study inflight ice buildup. Since that first run at the Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory (now NASA’s Glenn Research Center) in Cleveland, the facility has operated on a regular basis for 80 years and remains the oldest and one of the largest icing tunnels in the world.
Water droplets in clouds can freeze on aircraft surfaces in certain atmospheric conditions. Ice buildup on the forward edges of wings and tails causes significant decreases in lift and rapid increases in drag. Ice can also block engine intakes and add weight. NASA has a long tradition of working to understand the conditions that cause icing and developing systems that prevent and remove ice buildup.
The NACA decided to build its new icing tunnel adjacent to the lab’s Altitude Wind Tunnel to take advantage of its powerful cooling equipment and unprecedented refrigeration system. The system, which can reduce air temperature to around –30 degrees Fahrenheit, produces realistic and repeatable icing conditions using a spray nozzle system that creates small, very cold droplets and a drive fan that generates airspeeds up to 374 miles per hour.
View upstream of the Icing Research Tunnel’s 25-foot-diameter drive fan in 1944. The original 12-bladed wooden fan and its 4,100-horsepower motor could produce air speeds up to 300 miles per hour. The motor and fan were replaced in 1987 and 1993, respectively.Credit: NASA Two rudimentary icing tunnels had briefly operated at the NACA’s Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia, but icing research primarily relied on flight testing. The sophisticated new tunnel in Cleveland offered a safer way to study icing physics, test de-icing systems, and develop icing instrumentation.
During World War II, inlet icing was a key contributor to the heavy losses suffered by C-46s flying supply missions to allied troops in China. In February 1945, a large air scoop from the C-46 Commando was installed in the tunnel, where researchers determined the cause of the issue and redesigned the scoop to prevent freezing water droplets entering. The modifications were later incorporated into the C–46 and Convair C–40.
A National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics engineer experiments with an Icing Research Tunnel water spray system design in September 1949. Researchers used data taken from research flights to determine the proper droplet sizes. The atomizing spray system was perfected in 1950.Credit: NASA Despite these early successes, NACA engineers struggled to improve the facility’s droplet spray system because of a lack of small nozzles able to produce sufficiently small droplets. After years of dogged trial and error, the breakthrough came in 1950 with an 80-nozzle system that produced the uniform microscopic droplets needed to properly simulate a natural icing cloud.
Usage of the IRT increased in the 1950s, and the controlled conditions produced by the facility helped researchers define specific atmospheric conditions that produce icing. The Civil Aeronautics Authority (the precursor to the Federal Aviation Administration) used this data to establish regulations for all-weather aircraft. The facility also contributed to new icing protections for antennae and jet engines and the development of cyclical heating de-icing systems.
The success of the NACA’s icing program, along with the increased use of jet engines – which permitted cruising above the weather – reduced the need for additional icing research. In early 1957, just before the NACA transitioned to NASA, the center’s icing program was terminated. Nonetheless, the IRT remained active throughout the 1960s and 1970s supporting industry testing.
The Icing Research Tunnel is highlighted in this 1973 aerial photograph. The larger Altitude Wind Tunnel (AWT) is located behind it, and the Refrigeration Building that supported both tunnels is immediately to the left of the AWT.Credit: NASA By the mid-1970s, new icing issues were arising due to the increased use of helicopters, regional airliners, and general aviation aircraft. The center held an icing workshop in July 1978 where over 100 icing experts from across the world converged and lobbied for a reinstatement of NASA’s icing research program.
The agency agreed to provide funding to support a small team of researchers and increase operation of the icing facility. In 1982, a deadly icing-related airline crash spurred NASA to bring back a full-fledged icing research program.
Nearly all the tunnel’s major components were subsequently upgraded. Use of the IRT skyrocketed, and there was at least a one-year wait for new tests during this period. In 1988, the facility operated more hours than any year since 1950.
This model was installed in the Icing Research Tunnel in 2023 as part of the Advanced Air Mobility Rotor Icing Evaluation Study, which sought to refine testing of rotating models in the tunnel, validate 3D computational models, and study propeller icing issues.Credit: NASA The facility was used in a complementary way with the Twin Otter aircraft and computer simulation to improve de-icing systems, predictive tools, and instrumentation. IRT testing also accelerated the all-weather certification of the OH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. In the 1990s, the icing program turned its attention to combatting super-cooled large droplets, which can cause ice buildup in areas not protected by leading edge de-icing systems, and tailplane icing, which can cause commuter aircraft to pitch forward.
The IRT was one of the busiest facilities at the center in the 2000s and continues to maintain a steady test schedule today, investigating icing on turbofan engines and propellers, refining testing of rotating models, validating 3D models, and much more. The IRT been used to develop nearly every modern ice protection system, provided key icing environment data to regulatory agencies, and validated leading ice prediction software. After 80 years, it remains a critical tool for sustaining NASA’s leadership in the icing field.
More Resources:
“We Freeze to Please”: A History of NASA’s Icing Research Tunnel and the Quest for Flight Safety Icing Research Tunnel Website International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark NASA Glenn’s Aeronautics Research NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate Explore More
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A fire burns in Fishlake National Forest, as part of the Fall 2023 FASMEE prescribed burn. NASA/ Grace Weikert Background
Fire is a natural occurrence in many ecosystems and can promote ecological health. However, wildfires are growing in scope and occurring more often than in the past. Among other causes this is due to human-caused climate impacts and the expansion of communities into areas with wildland vegetation. These blazes continue to significantly harm communities, public health, and natural ecosystems. NASA is leveraging cutting-edge science and technology to better understand wildland fire behavior and provide valuable tools for fire policy, response, and mitigation.
NASA’s Stake in Wildfire
NASA’s contributions to wildland fire management span decades. This includes research to better understand the role fire plays in Earth’s dynamic atmosphere, and airborne and spaceborne sensors to analyze fire lifecycles. Much of this research and technology is still used by wildfire agencies across the globe today. NASA is building on this research and technology development with the Wildland Fire Management Initiative (WMI).
WMI leverages expertise across the Agency in space technology, science, and aeronautics to improve wildfire research and response. Through this effort, NASA and its partners will continue to provide tools and technologies for improved predictive fire modeling, risk assessment, fire prevention, suppression and post-fire recovery operations. NASA’s WMI aims to equip responders with improved tools for managing these fires
How NASA is Tackling Wildfire
NASA is collaborating with other government agencies, academia, and commercial industries to build a concept of operations for the future of wildland fire management. This means identifying gaps in current wildland fire technologies and procedures and laying out clear solutions to address those challenges.
NASA will perform a demonstration of wildland fire technologies – including X – in the coming years.
To provide a well-rounded toolkit for improving wildland operations, NASA and is tackling every aspect of wildland fire response. These efforts include:
Pre-Fire
Fuel fire maps with improved accuracy Tools that identify where and when safe, preventative burn treatments would be most effective Airspace management and safety technologies to enable mainstream use of uncrewed aircraft systems in prescribed burns Active Fire
Fire detection and tracking imagery Improved fire information management systems Models for changing fire conditions, including fire behavior, and wind and atmospheric tracking for quality forecasts Uncrewed aircraft and high-altitude balloons for real-time communications for fighting fires in harsh environments Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) to expand use of uncrewed aircraft systems in fire response, particularly in environments where traditional air traffic control technologies aren’t available An airspace awareness and communications system to enable remotely piloted aircraft to identify, monitor, and suppress wildfires 24 hours a day Post-Fire
Improved fire impact assessments, including fire severity, air and water quality, risks of landslides, debris flows, and burn scars Ground-based, airborne, and spaceborne observations to develop monitoring systems for air quality and map burn severity and develop and enhance models and predictions of post-fire hazards NASA’s Disasters Response Coordination System (DRCS) supports all three fire response aspects listed above. The DRCS, developed under the Agency’s Earth Science Division’s Disasters Program, provides decisional support to international and domestic operational response agencies. This support includes products for understanding wildfire movement and potential pathways, burn-area maps, and impacts of fire, ash, and smoke to population and critical infrastructure. DCRS tools also provide assessments of post-fire flooding and debris flow susceptibility.
NASA’s Investment in New Wildland Fire Technologies
NASA’s WMI offers grants, contracts, and prizes to small businesses, research institutions, and other wildland technology innovators. Some related technology development activities underway include:
Testing communications technologies for incident response teams in areas with no cellphone coverage via a high-altitude balloon 60,000 feet above ground level Developing wildfire detection systems and instruments for crewed and uncrewed aircraft Funding early-stage technology development for remote sensing instruments and sensor systems Developing and flight testing integrated, compact systems for small spacecraft and other platforms for autonomous detection, location tracking, and data collection of transient smoke plumes, early wildfires and other events Licensing technologies relevant to wildland fire management and hosting wildland fire webinars to promote NASA technology licensing Partners
The NASA Wildland Fire Management Initiative team collaborates with industry, academia, philanthropic institutions, and other government agencies for a more fire-resilient future. These include:
U.S. Forest Service The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Federal Aviation Administration The Department of Homeland Security The Department of Defense The National Wildfire Coordinating Group WMI Deliverables
Through these combined efforts, NASA aims to address urgent wildland fire management challenges and ensure communities are better prepared for wildland fires. NASA will continue to expand partnerships within wildland fire management agencies for technology development and adoptions.
For more information, email: Agency-WildlandFiresInitiative@mail.nasa.gov
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By NASA
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program, in preparation for the agency’s Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon, conduct testing of four emergency egress baskets on the mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in July 2024. The baskets are used in the case of a pad abort emergency to allow astronauts and other pad personnel to escape quickly from the mobile launcher to the base of the pad to be driven to safety by emergency transport vehicles.NASA/Amanda Arrieta Since NASA began sending astronauts to space, the agency has relied on emergency systems for personnel to safely leave the launch pad and escape the hazard in the unlikely event of an emergency during the launch countdown.
During the Mercury and Gemini programs, NASA used launch escape systems on spacecraft for the crew to safely evacuate if needed. Though these systems are still in use for spacecraft today, the emergency routes on the ground were updated starting with the Apollo missions to account for not only the crew, but all remaining personnel at the launch pad.
During Apollo, personnel relied on a ground-based emergency egress system – or emergency exit route – to allow for a quick and safe departure. Though the system has varied over time and different launch pads use different escape systems, the overall goal has stayed the same – quickly leave the launch pad and head to safety.
Beginning with Artemis II, the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will use a track cable which connects the mobile launcher to the perimeter area of the launch pad where four baskets, similar to gondolas at ski lifts, can ride down. Once down at the ground level, armored emergency response vehicles are stationed to take personnel safely away from the launch pad to one of the triage site locations at Kennedy.
“We have four baskets that sit on the side of the mobile launcher tower at the same level as the crew access arm, the location where the crew enters the spacecraft,” said Amanda Arrieta, mobile launcher 1 senior element engineer for NASA’s EGS Program. “The intention is to provide another means of egress for the crew and the closeout crew in the event of an emergency. Each of these baskets will go down a wire. It’s a wire rope system that connects to the pad terminus, an area near the pad perimeter where the baskets will land after leaving the mobile launcher tower.”
Infographic shows the route astronauts and personnel would take during an emergency abort situation. Credit: NASA The Artemis system works like this: personnel will exit the Orion spacecraft or the white room (depending where teams are at the time of the emergency) inside the crew access arm of the mobile launcher. Located on the 274-foot-level, teams are approximately 375 feet above the ground. From there, they will head down the 1,335-foot-long cables inside the emergency egress baskets to the launch pad perimeter, or the pad terminus area. Each basket, which is similar in size to a small SUV, is designed to carry up to five people or a maximum weight of 1,500 pounds.
Once teams have left the terminus area and arrive at the triage site location, emergency response crews are there to evaluate and take care of any personnel.
“When we send our crews to the pad during launch, their safety is always at the forefront of our minds. While it is very unlikely that we will need the emergency egress and pad abort systems, they are built and tested to ensure that if we do need them then they are ready to go,” said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director. “Our upcoming integrated ground systems training is about demonstrating the capability of the entire emergency egress response from the time an emergency condition is declared until we have the crews, both flight and ground, safely accounted for outside the hazardous area.”
For the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX uses a slidewire cable with baskets that ride down the cable at the Launch Complex 39A pad. At Space Launch Complex 40, meanwhile, the team uses a deployable chute for its emergency egress system. Boeing and United Launch Alliance also use a slidewire, but instead of baskets, the team deploys seats that ride down the slide wires, similar to riding down a zip line, at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Artemis II will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft and will also introduce several new ground systems for the first time – including the emergency egress system. Though no NASA mission to date has needed to use its ground-based emergency egress system during launch countdown, those safety measures are still in place and maintained as a top priority for the agency.
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By NASA
The summer months are usually a time for teachers to take a break from the classroom and enjoy some well-earned rest. But at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, two experienced educators dedicated their summer vacations to learning how to enrich their students’ science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and inspire them to achieve their dreams.
Johnson’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) welcomed Jerry “Denise” Dunn and Shawnda Folsom as full-time interns for the summer. Both women came to Johnson through the Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium, which not only supports students pursuing STEM careers but also provides curriculum enhancement and professional development opportunities for educators. Dunn and Folsom were invited to become interns after completing STELLAR, the consortium’s yearlong mentorship program that immerses educators in hands-on STEM-based activities for classroom application.
Denise Dunn (left) and Shawnda Folsom. For Dunn, a middle school special education teacher in the small town of Checotah, Oklahoma, participating in STELLAR opened several doors that ultimately led to her internship. Dunn works primarily with students who have severe and profound disabilities and is fiercely passionate about increasing their access to STEM education and opportunities.
“If you look at the research, there’s been a big push for STEM for everyone except kids with disabilities. The number of people with disabilities in STEM-related fields hasn’t changed in a decade,” she said. “We need to promote that more.”
Dunn suggested that she and her STELLAR colleagues support Challenge Air, a program that teaches children with disabilities about aviation and lets them co-pilot a plane. The STELLAR group set up activity tables at a Challenge Air event where kids could build rockets or make Moon craters and learn about space exploration. That experience inspired the Oklahoma Space Grant Consortium to create an annual STEM engagement event specifically for kids with disabilities and their families.
Denise Dunn (left) helps a family build a foam rocket at a Challenge Air event.Image courtesy of Denise Dunn Dunn subsequently attended the Space Exploration Educators Conference where she connected with Tracy Minish, a former Johnson employee with more than 30 years of experience in the Space Shuttle Program and Mission Control Center who is also legally blind. Minish met virtually with Dunn’s students to encourage them to pursue their dreams, then invited her to Johnson to learn about the accommodations and support NASA provides to employees with disabilities. Dunn used what she learned to create a teacher workshop that shared practical strategies for STEM special education. These efforts and the connections she made at Johnson paved the way for her internship.
“I want to know more about what NASA does to support its employees with disabilities. I also want to know more about those employees and their stories so that I can share that with my students,” she said. Dunn also appreciated connecting with Johnson’s No Boundaries Employee Resource Group because they have the power to provide representation for kids with disabilities.
“Kids with disabilities are just natural problem solvers and they have unique perspectives, and they need to see their value,” she said. “And NASA – what a great place for them to see that.”
For Folsom, an elementary-level science and social studies teacher for Velma-Alma Public Schools, the internship offer came at a time of personal and professional change. In addition to planning her upcoming wedding and a move, juggling her kids’ schedules, and pursuing a master’s degree in education, Folsom was also preparing to take on a new, school district-wide role. “I am ecstatic to take on a new challenge – building, implementing, and teaching a comprehensive STEM program for students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade,” she said. She saw the internship as a chance to immerse herself in NASA’s work and bring new opportunities for STEM learning and engagement back to her students. “I was not aware of all of the student design challenges that NASA has, so I am super excited to share these and have future classes participate in them,” she said.
Shawnda Folsom leads an Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) activity for youth during Bring Youth to Work Day at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Image courtesy of Shawnda Folsom Folsom is also determined to see more NASA interns from her school district, which is extremely rural and qualifies for Title I support. “My goal is to shake the right hands and make the connections that will allow me to set my students up for their future, which hopefully will include an internship for many of them,” she said. “I want my ‘small town’ mindset students to realize how much talent and potential they each have. I want them to know they can do anything.” She noted that her own story – which involves a nontraditional career path and now, at 41, an internship – could help inspire her students.
Together with their OSTEM mentors and teammates, Dunn and Folsom spent their summer creating hands-on activities for children who attended events like Johnson’s Bring Youth to Work Day and the Dorothy Vaughan Center in Honor of the Women of Apollo dedication. They prepared an aerodynamics lesson plan and STEM activity for the MLB Players STEM League Global Championship in July, supported and participated in NASA-led professional development programs for teachers, and worked on a new camp experience resource to complement OSTEM’s ‘First Woman’ camp experience.
Denise Dunn and Shawnda Folsom present a remote sensing activity for local scouts who attended the Dorothy Vaughan Center in Honor of the Women of Apollo event at Johnson Space Center on July 19, 2024. NASA/Robert Markowitz Both women look forward to returning to their schools later this month and to sharing what they learned with their students.
“I want to expose my students to higher-level thinking and new STEM challenges,” said Folsom. “I want them to have those ‘a ha’ moments that will possibly launch their lives down a path they never fathomed could happen.”
“This internship has made me more aware of opportunities, not only to continue to advocate for my students, but for myself,” Dunn said. “Keep going. Keep dreaming.”
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A new era of aviation is here, and NASA’s System-Wide Safety (SWS) project is developing innovative data solutions to assure safe, rapid, and repeatable access to a transformed National Airspace System (NAS). SWS was created in 2018 and is part of NASA Aeronautics’ Airspace Operations and Safety Program. SWS evaluates how the aerospace industry and aircraft modernization impacts safety by using technology to address future operational and design risks.
SWS Goals
To explore, discover, and understand the impact on safety of growing complexity introduced by modernization aimed at improving the efficiency of flight, the access to airspace, and the expansion of services provided by air vehicles To develop and demonstrate innovative solutions that enable this modernization and the aviation transformation envisioned for global airspace system through proactive mitigation of risks in accordance with target levels of safety To transform the NAS, SWS employs high-risk research and development to understand how the modernization of industry and aircraft can affect overall safety. SWS is developing and demonstrating innovative solutions within several key research areas, referred to as technical challenges.
Current Technical Challenges (TCs)
TC-2: In-Flight Safety Predictions for Emerging Operations TC-4: Complex Autonomous Systems Assurance TC-5: Safety Demonstrator Series for Operational In-Time Aviation Safety Management System TC-6: In-Time Aviation Safety Management System SWS is developing the concept and requirements for an assured In-Time Aviation Safety Management System to achieve the goals described above. It is an integrated set of services, functions, and capabilities to address operational risks and hazards of a transformed NAS. SWS catalyzes the discovery of the unknown and paves the path forward for aviation safety in the future airspace.
Back to main System-Wide Safety project page.
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Last Updated Jul 31, 2024 EditorJim BankeContactKaitlyn Foxkaitlyn.d.fox@nasa.gov Related Terms
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